


S3E16 The Poet Laureate  (Or, How the West Wing Discovered Fan Fiction)

by cottontomato, JDPostEpisodeChallenge, JOBrien42, kcat1971, Lady_of_Winterhell, SeaDog11



Series: Josh & Donna Post Episode Challenge [24]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, International Fanworks Day 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22735942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottontomato/pseuds/cottontomato, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDPostEpisodeChallenge/pseuds/JDPostEpisodeChallenge, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JOBrien42/pseuds/JOBrien42, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcat1971/pseuds/kcat1971, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_Winterhell/pseuds/Lady_of_Winterhell, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaDog11/pseuds/SeaDog11
Summary: A collaborative effort for the prompt: Your Favorite Characters discover Fan Fiction about themselves.In Season 3 Episode 16 "The Poet Laureate" Donna discovers a fan website "LemonLyman dot com." She shares the link with co-workers, whom all tease Josh.  Josh eventually goes onto the website and interacts (horribly) with his fans, prompting the meme "The internet people have all gone crazy!"  CJ steps in to clean up Josh's mess, compares the fiasco to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and orders Josh never to post on the Website again.  But what happened next?
Relationships: C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Series: Josh & Donna Post Episode Challenge [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1087419
Comments: 17
Kudos: 38





	1. C.J. & Toby

CJ was able to call a full lid by 7, and after picking up some food, they were back at her place by 8.

Both decided they should get more comfortable. Toby went to the armoire where he’d begun storing items over the past several months to get his favorite CCNY tee & shorts, while as usual, CJ chose to just strip down to her black camisole and panties in what she called “being free.” As far as he was concerned, she could be as free as she liked—even more free would be just fine with him.

In any case, he loved this CJ and spending time together. After several months of dating—quietly—they had their routine down. They joked that they were dating quietly because while they kept everything low key and certainly out of the papers, their relationship seemed to be preordained by their friends and colleagues who never questioned them on why they started arriving together, in Toby’s car, every morning. They either didn’t know or didn’t really care—nor did CJ and Toby feel the need to explicitly apprise everyone.

One habit they formed was to come home to CJ’s place, debrief the day, and then suddenly forget they worked together. Usually, the debrief was just snark and innuendo that would have them removed if they said it at work. Tonight, CJ had something else in mind.

“Can you believe this jackass was talking to people on the internet?” Toby chortled. He knew he probably shouldn’t laugh, but it was cute when she got mad at Josh. For all that he loved Josh like a brother, CJ and Josh probably had the best sibling rivalry going. Then, he heard her elicit one of her contagious laughs from the kitchen as she cane walking into the living room with their drinks: a scotch for him and a Merlot for her. They really had mastered this whole his and hers thing.

“I mean, who does that? It’s like a recipe for disaster, especially for the poor Press Secretary who has to clean this shit up. And who cares what people on the internet think?”

“I think it’s safe to say we do. We kinda have a whole business around it.”

“We do, but I have a hard time reconciling the time and energy spent educating some guy named blowme304 with the fact that he’s some random troll. Like look at this.” CJ got up from the tan colored couch, padding over to her desk to grab her laptop and connecting the internet cable and returning to her spot lounging across Toby’s lap.

“Here it is. This LemonLyman site, run by some of Josh’s deranged fans no doubt.”

“Oh look, there’s a comment that says ‘CJ Cregg is the hottest fucking woman in this Administration of dicks.’ Can we truly say they are deranged with thoughts like that?” CJ’s blue eyes met his right then, she pursed her lips, and playfully swatted at his shoulder.

“Stop! I’m being serious. Why would Josh think he needs to respond to this nonsense?”

“Sweetheart, I’m pretty sure if there were a platform where Josh could interact with his fans directly and talk to them daily, I’m sure he would. Me? I’d probably just talk about the Yankees and how great my girl is.” He could feel her grin as he rubbed her increasingly relaxed shoulders. CJ was certainly an empowered woman, and he’d always known her as such, but his possessiveness always lit a fire in both of them. 

“Regardless, I told him not to ever talk to people on the internet again.” She took a small sip from her goblet. 

“The way he tells it, his life flashed before his eyes.” Toby laughed again. Truly, CJ and Josh having a go at each other was peak entertainment as far as he was concerned.

“Be that as it may, he better not fix his fingers to typing another damn word on this site or any other.” She was using her serious voice now, and that had a dual impact on Toby. 

“Fair. I just want to see what these people are saying that got him all worked up.”

CJ laughed. “Why so you can also argue with the internet people? Nothing good will come of it.”

“Awww come on! It could be fun.” Toby brushes his thumb over CJ’s hip bone. He could hear her almost imperceptible sigh. He knew he had her. 

They spent a few minutes reading, laughing at, and debating a few of the comments. Some were good. Others were just plain crazy. That’s when he noticed a tab called “Fanfic.”

“What the hell is fanfiction?” This one was a bit new for him.

“It’s where people write out their fantasies or what they think should happen.”

“As though anyone cares?”

“Mmmmm some of it is really good. It can be great wish fulfillment.” Now, she had piqued Toby’s curiosity as he stared down at her brown hair. 

“So I take it you’re a fan?” She stilled for a moment. Busted. 

“I mean, yes. Sure. It’s not the worst way to read a story.”

“What fanfiction have you read?”

“Actually, a few good ones on that page about Josh...and Donna!”

“Josh & Donna? Why did you say it like that?”

“Well, love, why do you think people are writing about Josh and Donna...together?” Suddenly, the lightbulb went off.

“Oh! They’re stories about them fucking?” CJ snorted.

“Well, not just that you crude, crude man. The stories point out all kinds of things about how they interact, what they could be like married with kids—I even saw one where Donna runs for President and Josh is the first First Husband.” 

“Ok, I’m game. Which one of these did you read?” CJ pulled up the document she had read at her desk earlier. He could see she was super excited and entertained by this find.

They took turns reading aloud a fic where Josh and Donna were not only dating, but they had gotten married by mid-Administration.

“Can I just say that I don’t sound like that?” Toby grunted out while rubbing his beard.

CJ leaned up into his face, grabbed his chin, and kissed him. “Baby, you sound exactly like that—and it’s ok because we love you for it.” He grumbled again, and she laughed. Rolling her eyes, she continued, “Well, I’m just glad we’re not that obvious.” 

“Really? Josh and Donna?” This was a new development.

“Yes, don’t you see it? They’re so in love and neither one knows what to do about it.”

“I think you’ve been reading too much fanfiction.”

“Oh please! You seriously don’t notice the way he looks at her? Or the way that she pours her soul into his needs?” 

“Maybe. I don’t know. Really, the only relationship I’m worried about is the one right here.” As he spoke, he pinched CJ’s bottom getting a rise, and another kiss, out of her.

“Smart boy.” He smiled, and took his glass. “All done?”

“Are you having another?” She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do another. Got any pie?”

She glared at him. “You know the answer to that question, Pie Boy. You want a scoop of ice cream with it?” He shook his head & she went in the kitchen for their dessert.

While she was in there, he took the liberty to do some scrolling through the website.

“Hey sweetheart, I think I found your page.”

“My page?”

“Yeah, there’s one of these fanfiction pages dedicated to you.” She peered her head around the corner at that. 

“What?”

“Yeah, apparently, someone has written a bunch of stories about you...and Danny Concannon.” Toby laughed, but his laughter did not reach his eyes. In fact, his stomach was free falling into a pit. The way Danny always lingered around CJ never sat well with him. He may not pay much attention to the goings on of Josh & Donna, but he could spot the lust Danny had for CJ from 10 miles away. 

She ran into the living room and sat next to Toby, folding her legs underneath her. “What...the...fuck?” She looked over his shoulder to see some of the stories.

“Here’s one where you’re married and have a kid. Really, CJ? I thought you’d at least have the courtesy to let me know of your impending nuptials and expectancy!” Again, he laughed but it did not reach his eyes. She just looked at him with a blank face.

“Danny? Really? You’re right. Clearly deranged.” As Toby pulled her into his side, they both got a good laugh out of that. 

  
  



	2. Margaret

She paused briefly before moving the mouse over the link. She knew she could be opening up Pandora’s Box. The Lemon Lyman link was making its way through the assistants’ emails. It may have started with Ginger or maybe forwarded by Carol. Donna was the first to stumble on this treasure trove. No matter where it came from, lemonlyman.com made for a good laugh earlier in the day. But now CJ’s threat of shoving motherboards had echoed beyond the bullpen and put a bit of fear in Margaret herself. “I’m just going to see what’s being posted. This is harmless. I’m looking, not posting. No harm can be done.” 

“Here we go,” she thought to herself as she clicked. Margaret scanned the front page. The Lemon Lyman header glowed across a yellow banner. The outline of the White House was splayed as the background. A photo of Josh, arms crossed and grinning widely, on the right hand side of the webpage. The sidebar’s listings caught her eye, glowing in all caps.

SIGHTINGS ABOUT TOWN: WHERE TO SEE JOSH

PRESS CORPS POSSE: NEWS WE CAN USE

SUIT AND BACKPACKS, AHOY: JOSH FASHION IN AND OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

CONSPIRACY THEORIES: CIA, NSC, NASA and more!

WHITE HOUSE FAN FIC: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER IMAGINED

Her curiosity was definitely piqued. “Fan Fiction?” She clicked and expected the fantasy dates with “Sugarlips” to flood her screen. The page showed link after link. They looked like essay titles or articles. No, wait—they were stories about White House staffers. Her eyes recognized all the names littered between the lines of text. Josh. Donna. CJ. Sam. Toby. 

_ State of Their Union: _ Josh and Donna get married the weekend before the State of the Union and mayhem ensues. Join the gang as they get these kids to the altar!

_ One Minute to Midnight _ : Doomsday approaches and Josh confesses his love. How will it end?

_ Saving Sam:  _ Sam is in need of a kidney. Will the WH COS save the day?

_ Madame President:  _ Following along as CJ Cregg, former White House Press Secretary, becomes the first female President.

_ Haunted _ : Haikus and Meditations of Toby Ziegler

This was more than fantasy dates with Josh. These were fans…of White House Staff. Speculating on their love life. Sending them on fictional adventures. Pairing them together in and out of the office. All of this available on the internet. 5297 stories to be exact. She noticed below there were filtering options. SEARCH by DATE POSTED. SEARCH by AUTHOR. SEARCH by TITLE.

SEARCH by PAIRING. “Jackpot,” she thought to herself. As she clicked on a story entitled Bedfellows, she heard the familiar bellow of “MARGARET!” Margaret swiveled in her chair, moving to block her screen as she opened Bedfellows. 

Leo walked in and noticed her shift uncomfortably in her chair. “Margaret, why is…” Leo paused briefly, lowering the file in his hand and looking up over his glasses. He peered over Margaret’s shoulder. The bright yellow header of Lemon Lyman caught his eye. He didn’t have to utter a word.

“Leo, I want to make clear I did not post or forward anything. Leo, you should know that there’s a site.” She took a beat and whispered “about the staff. In situations.”

Leo paused as he waited for his ever loyal assistant to fill him in. “About our staff? What type of situations? Is CJ looped in on this? Has the press caught wind of something? We just finished a national press conference on energy and the Ritchie thing and we get hit again.” Leo assumed this was another Drudge Report-esque site, making the rounds and stirring the pot after the President’s hot mic incident several days ago.

“CJ is aware of the site’s existence. But Leo, the site has stories.”

“Today Margaret. You’ve going to have to give me more to work with. Today. As in now.”

“There are stories about staffers. Written by the public. These stories are listed as ‘fan fiction.’ Fans of the White House Staff. Pairing them together. In possibly delicate situations. Though I have not had a chance to explore. Though I have not had a chance to explore. Yet.”

“Oh for the love of God.” Leo uttered.


	3. Leo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> by Lady_of_Winterhell

“Margaret!” Leo shouted as he leaned on his intercom system.

“Yes?” He was a bit surprised to hear her voice on the other side, but Margaret was always a great worker and very loyal. It was unlike her to leave without notifying him--or even leaving before him for that matter.

“Why are you still here?”

“Because you are?”

“Not really a good excuse. Why don’t you bring me a club soda and hit the road?”

Moments later, Margaret brought Leo a club soda, sitting it on his desk, and asking in a pensive tone: “Are you sure you don’t need anything else?” 

“Go home, Margaret.”

“Ok, I will see you tomorrow!” The redhead, now with much more umph in her step, dashed out of his office. Long hours were common to their line of work, but there was no need to keep Margaret on hand as he settled in to read reports for the better part of the evening.

Losing track of time, Leo heard the phone ring some time later. “Leo McGarry.”

“Hey, dad!” 

“Mallory?” Removing his reading glasses, Leo relaxed a bit in his chair. He may be busy, but he was never too busy for his best redheaded gal. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, you know, nothing.” Years of experience in Washington politics, coupled with the time spent as her father, told Leo that tone was everything. And Mallory’s tone suggested a lot more than “nothing” was up. This was either a call where she asked a huge favor or where she needed information. Could go either way, so he made a split-second decision to implore her.

“Really? So you’re just calling me for no reason at all?” 

She chuckled a bit at that, which softened Leo’s demeanor. He never spoke to her the way that he did others, but she was no stranger to a firm tone from her father. “So do you know if Josh is dating anyone?”

This was a shock to Leo’s system. With all of the hope he could muster, he sincerely wanted to believe Mallory wasn’t calling to ask to be set up with Josh. By this point in the game, it would be much too strange. But no. Wait. Wouldn’t she reach out to him directly? And hadn’t she mentioned some hockey player recently?

“Mallory, how would I know that?” Of course, the reality was that he would know if Josh was dating someone. Besides their long hours, Josh could never restrain himself too much. Very much still a boy at heart, a boy who lost his father at that, Josh tended to disclose things to Leo rather easily. 

“Come on, dad. I know you guys talk! I need to know if he’s dating someone...and if it’s someone in the office.” Now, that certainly piqued Leo’s interest as he sat up a bit straighter in his chair.

“You think he’s dating someone in the office?”

He could hear Mallory take in a deep breath on the other end of the line, clearly gathering her thoughts. “Well, there’s this website. It’s called LemonLyman.com.”

“Yeah, unfortunately, I’ve heard of it.”

“Well, there is chatter that Josh is dating someone in the office. In fact, there are stories about them dating. My friend, Becca, told me about them. I’m just trying to find out whether they are based in truth.”

“Mallory O’Brien McGarry! You called me to source a rumor and verify it?” Leo was only slightly dismayed, but he really wanted more information. “Over a website run by God only knows who? Unbelievable!”

“Well, I mean, when we’ve interacted in a group, it does seem like Josh and Donna have a thing going.”

“Josh and Donna? His assistant? Donna? From Wisconsin?”

Mallory was laughing. “Is it so hard to believe?”

“No, but I have a hard time believing Josh’s ethics would allow him to be involved with his assistant in that way. It could be seen as an abuse of power.”

“Not what the folks at LemonLyman say.”

“And what exactly do the folks at LemonLyman say?” Leo wasn’t sure rather he would be happier or more dismayed with the answer.

“So there are a ton of theories that they are dating. There are even some stories based on those theories.”

“Stories, like people have seen them together?”

“No, dad! Stories that are called fan fiction. People take those theories about Josh and Donna being together and craft a story around it.”

“Believe it or not, Mal: I have heard of fan fiction. I understand the concept, but why would fan fiction have anything to do with Josh and Donna?”

“It’s just that the theories seem so...realistic.”

Now, Leo decided, he was definitely going to play along. He was equal parts intrigued and amused. Mallory was on the verge of being flustered, so he would surely be entertained as well. “How do they seem realistic?”

“There’s one story about them being secretly married. Like I know it sounds crazy, but the story lines it out in a way that it really makes sense.”

“Ok?”

“So the story says that Donna and Josh got married in secret during the campaign. It’s why they are always together, as seen getting coffee in DC and what not. No Josh without Donna.” Mallory seemed to hesitate a bit.

“Is there more?”

“Well...there’s this bit about sex, and I’m not entirely sure that it is or isn’t true. But you know, that’s not important.” 

“From my recollection, it’s one of the important highlights of marriage.” 

“Dad!” Mallory screeched into the phone, obviously uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. Leo laughed, knowing he had garnered the exact reaction he was looking for.

“Sweetheart, the truth is, I’m not sure what’s going on with Josh and Donna. I’m not sure they even know. I doubt these stories on this website have an iota of truth to them. They’re just the product of people exercising their imaginations. It seems harmless, but maybe waste a little less time on it, huh?”

Mallory laughed then. “Ok, dad. I gotta go. I will talk to you later, but if you know anything, let me know!”

“You’re my first call, kid.” Leo said with a smile on his face. “Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye!” He heard Mallory’s line click. He held onto the receiver for just a moment longer with that cheshire grin on his face. Mallory was truly his pride and joy. While he had achieved much in his life-long political career, she was his greatest achievement.

Leo was soon back to his paperwork. However, within minutes, curiosity soon got the better of him as he powered up his computer machine. Taking a look at the LemonLyman site, he could see why CJ had been so explosive earlier in the day upon finding out Josh spoke to people on this site. Maybe this forum wasn’t the best for having complex political discussion.

It didn’t take him long to peruse the site and eventually find the stories Mallory described. He opened and quickly read through some of them. Some were better written than others, but they were all entertaining and gave him pause. While Leo knew Josh and Donna were close and that Josh held a special affection for Donna, he was near certain nothing was happening between them. 

The fan fiction? Well, it told a different story.

  
  



	4. Ed & Larry

“What a day”, Ed thought to himself as he tossed the HR 153 binder on his desk located in the small cubicle farm of the Operations Bullpen. He was about to call it a night when his phone rang, not a typical occurrence at 9pm on a weeknight. 

“Larry?”

“Ed?”

“Umm yeah, you called?”

“Yeah, did you see the email that Ginger forwarded to us?” 

“No, not yet can it wait until tomorrow?”

“No absolutely not. I’m coming over there.”

“Okay, but like I’ve said before, you sit three cubes down from me, you don’t need to call.”

“Oh yeah, right sorry,” Larry apologized as he peaked his head over the cubicles and smiled at Ed.

Within seconds Larry had pulled up a chair at Ed’s desk helping him sift through his emails to find Ginger’s.

“Ahh there it is, bottom of the screen forwarded at 4:52 PM.

**_Ed,_ **

**_You and Larry NEED to see this website. Seriously, get the popcorn! You’re in for a treat. Don’t tell Josh or Donna I forwarded this to you._ **

  * **_G_**



While the Internet took a few moments to load, Ed pulled out a bag of popcorn that Ginger had refilled last week. Finally, a giant photo of Josh in a tux loaded, with a collage background of random Josh photos. 

“Welcome to [ LemonLyman.com](http://lemonlyman.com/) ,” Larry began.

“Oh my God, Josh has a fan club! Oh this is good. This. . . . is . . . good,” Ed snarked as he scrolled down the screen with one hand and reached for a handful of popcorn with the other.

“Hey check it out, we’re in a few background shots, the caption says,  _ “Josh looking powerful on the steps of the Capitol, his sidekicks, Harry and Ted ready to assist.” _

“Harry and Ted? Well, close enough,” Larry shrugged.

“Click on that. What’s FanFic?”

“Oh look at that. People write stories about White House staffers,” Ed chuckled as he began to scroll through names. “There are a ton of Josh and Donna stories.”

“No surprise there. Have you heard how much money is in the pool now? Ginger said it’s up to like $2500.00. My guess is February 11th, 2003, something about their work anniversary, but this site might propel whatever time line those two are working off of.”

“I said April 18th 2003, Josh seems to think April is their work anniversary. At least that’s what Ginger told me. Hey look, there’s a section for us! Click on ‘Ed and Larry’”. Ed clicked on the link and sure enough about a dozen or so titles came up.

“Wow the world definitely sees us as a pair, everything involves the two of us together. I’m glad people are writing about our bromance, how cool is that? Here click on that one, that’s definitely gotta be about us being secret agents or something.”

Larry clicked on the link and after quickly browsing the first few paragraphs stopped and looked at Ed, “Yeah they’re not writing about that Ed. I don’t think the title, “Secret Meeting in the Mural Room” means what you think it does . . .”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,  _ Oh _ .”

“Well here let’s check out a few more.”

Silently they both read, frequently jumping around from story to story, before they turned to look at one another:

“Okay wait we did  _ what _ in the Mural Room?”

“Ginger knows about our secret relationship!?”

“Wait they fired you, so I quit?”

Ed grinned, “Well Larry, after reading all these stories there’s one thing I know for sure . . .” And after a brief pause both men laughed before saying in unison, “The world still doesn't know which one of us is Ed and which one of us is Larry!” 

  
  



	5. Zoey & Charlie

Zoey clicked submit and closed her laptop with a warm smile. With a yawn, a stretch and a somewhat distressed glance at the alarm clock reading 3 in the morning, she realized she should have been in bed hours ago.

She gave a nod to Alyssa, the agent assigned to her over night, and received an arched eyebrow in return. She padded off to the lavatory with her basket of toiletries and got ready for bed, plotting the next chapter of her story in her head.

Five hours later, her cell phone rang breaking her out of her slumber.

“‘Lo?” she said as she fumbled open the device.

“Zoey, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Charlie?” Her exhausted brain could vaguely recognize his voice, but a surge of adrenaline shook away the fog of sleep and had her alert in moments. “Is something wrong? Is it my dad?”

“The President is fine,” he said. “I’m calling about what you wrote on that damn website.”

“Website?”

“Don’t play games, Zoey,” Charlie admonished her. “Or should I call you ’DeathTriscuit’?”

She was suddenly glad this was just a phone call as she felt herself blushing. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. You call me at eight in the morning, wake me up, and you’re spouting nonsense at me.”

“It’s 8:20, and you have a nine o’clock class, and I know how long it takes you to get ready,” Charlie said matter-of-factly. “But you were posting a story at 3:05 AM to lemonlyman dot com, a story about two people who probably thought of you as a friend before you started writing… that… about them.”

“Writing what?” Zoey asked sweetly. She caught his discomfort and moved to press her advantage. They’d been broken up for over a year, and even though she’d been the one to break it off, she still missed him, missed teasing him and talking with him. 

“I don’t have time for this, Zoey. You know.”

“Sex?” she said, teasingly. “Was it sex, Charlie? Were you reading smut, you pervert?”

“Zoey,” he said, his voice hard. “You know Josh thinks of you as a little sister. I don’t know how you can do this to him.”

“He’ll never see it,” Zoey said.

“He was on the website yesterday,” he pointed out. “So was she! And Margaret, and Bonnie and Ginger! CJ knows about it, and now, unfortunately, do I!” 

Charlie could hear her fidget a bit on the other end.

“It was a creative writing assignment,” Zoey confessed. “We were supposed to write a short romantic story. After I finished, I realized I’d been writing about Josh and Donna.”

“So you decided to post it?” he exclaimed. “So we’re back to my original question, what the hell were you thinking?”

“I… some friends had told me about the site, and we were laughing about it, because they just don’t understand him at all. They think he’s some bad boy political machine who bullies Senators around all day and takes down the Religious Right on Capitol Beat at night.” 

“You’re right,” Charlie replied laconically. “That doesn’t sound at all like him.”

“Anyway, I saw the fanfic section, and I thought… maybe they should get a glimpse of the real Josh. The sweet, goofy guy who tutored me on the campaign trail and who got shot and bounced right back and is completely in love with his assistant, who totally loves him back.”

“You’ve gotta delete the story, Zo’.” Charlie said, but his tone had softened. “They might find it and read it.”

“Good!” she countered. “Then they’ll see that they love each other and they can stop dancing around it. You just want to stop it because you’ve got a later date in the pool!”

“Zoey, you have to delete it” he said again. “People might find out it’s you, it’ll look bad for the White House. It’ll look bad for them!”

There was another pause, and he knew she was considering it.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll go delete it.” There was the sound of her laptop turning on in the background. “They do love each other, though.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “They do. But right now, I don’t think it’s gonna happen. And you have to get to class.”


	6. Ruth Lyman

After lunch Ruth Lyman quickly washed her dishes by hand and then placed them into the dishwasher. She wouldn’t actually run it until after dinner, but she didn’t like them to sit there unwashed. Once the kitchen was tidy, she made her way over to the small desk with her computer on it. She carefully followed the instructions that Josh had given her to boot it up, smiling to herself as she typed her password-- JD4EVER-- when prompted. Josh didn’t know about her new password. Her neighbor, Francine had taught her how to change it.

Once the computer was ready, she made her way to her email. Josh wasn’t great about calling, but he was pretty faithful about sending an email once a week. For some reason. he seemed to always find time on Friday morning. Ruth would have thought that Fridays would be bad, with so many things to do before the weekend, but as long as he found the time to send them, she wouldn’t complain.

Sure enough, there it was, right on top. She quickly clicked on it and was delighted to read about a meeting that he and Toby had with the majority leader. He’d played bad cop, while Toby had played worse cop. Then Donna had cleaned up the wake of destruction they’d left behind. Ruth had no doubt that it was Donna’s good cop that had probably saved the meeting from pointlessness.

Ruth responded to the message promptly. Reminding Josh to be good, that she loved him, and that she wasn’t getting any younger and that some grandchildren to dote on before she passed really wasn’t asking too much.

Having completed that weekly ritual, Ruth scrolled down to the next email. It was from Francine.

_ Ruth! I just found the strangest website. Is this YOUR son?  _

lemonlyman.com flashed in blue in the middle of her screen.

Ruth remembered from her computers for seniors class that if she clicked on a flashing blue sentence it might open a website, and since she trusted Francine, who had yet to steer her wrong, she figured there was no harm.

Sure enough a new page opened on her computer screen. And there was the nicest picture of her baby boy staring back at her.

“He really does look good in a tux.” She murmured to herself, staring at him. Josh reminded her so much of her Noah at that age. Of course by the time he was 40, she and Noah had been married for 15 years and had two children! Still, Joshua was a good boy. He’d get there. And Donna was young enough, Ruth really wasn’t worried . They still had time to have several children.

Ruth wondered if there were any more pictures of Josh. Or maybe some of he and Donna together, so she looked at the top of the page for a menu. Taking that class at temple really had been a good idea!

In a box in the sidebar, she found a list:

  
SIGHTINGS ABOUT TOWN: WHERE TO SEE JOSH

PRESS CORPS POSSE: NEWS WE CAN USE

SUIT AND BACKPACKS, AHOY: JOSH FASHION IN AND OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE

CONSPIRACY THEORIES: CIA, NSC, NASA and more!

WHITE HOUSE FAN FIC: EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER IMAGINED

Ruth didn’t know what Fan Fic was, but maybe someone had mistyped “pics,” so she clicked on the link.

There she found another list. At the top was something entitled  _ Josh and Donna’s Wedding Adventure part 2 _ .

“Well! I’m all for that! But if he got married and didn’t tell me, I’m going to have to have a serious discussion with that boy.” Ruth declared, quickly clicking on the link hoping for proof. Instead what she found looked to be an article.

She quickly began reading it.

_ Josh carried Donna across the threshold to their suite, then he set her gently on her feet. But Donna pushed Josh against the door, standing close and lovingly stroking his unruly Auburn curls _ .

Ruth smiled, he gets those curls from Noah, she thought to herself as she continued reading, 

_ Donna's hands slowly moved down his body until she reached his large manhood, cupping it through his trousers. _

"Oh my!" Ruth exclaimed clutching the pearls at her neck. She glanced around the room even though there was no one there to see her reaction. She fanned her face, then patted her hair lightly. Well, she thought to herself, if they ever behave like that, I certainly won't have to worry about getting some grandchildren.


	7. Josh & Donna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> by kcat1971 & electric_eel

She used her key to unlock his apartment and let herself in, kicking her shoes off and leaving them by the door. By the time she’d hung up her coat, he’d arrived, backpack slung over one shoulder, a huge pile of mail in his hands.

“Good thing I stopped. The mailbox was almost completely full.”

“How long has it been since you picked it up?”

“I dunno last week sometime I guess. None of this is important anyway.” He insisted flipping through the pile then dropping it on his already overflowing desk.

“Then why don’t you just throw it away?” she asked with a small shake of her head as she headed into the kitchen with the carryout bags. There she divided up the contents, putting half of the ginormous corned beef sandwich on each plate, and giving him a larger portion of the fries. It was more fun to steal them off of his plate anyway. She kept the pickle for herself, knowing he wouldn’t eat it.

She grabbed a single light beer out of the refrigerator and tucked it under her arm then picked up the plates and carried them out to the living room. He was already booting up his laptop as she set them down on the coffee table before taking her spot at the other end of the couch. 

He looked up and groaned a little. “One beer, Donna? I’m a grown man in my own home. I’d like to have a beer to myself.”

She just smirked at him. “Work first, Joshua. When we’re done we can split another.”

“Slave-driver.” he muttered under his breath goodnaturedly.

She chuckled a bit at that. They’d already spent 3 hours in the office on a Saturday morning, and here she was, ready to put in more time, and SHE was the slave-driver? That was what her parents called him whenever they caught wind of exactly how much time Donna devoted to the job.

But what they didn’t get, what she couldn’t explain, was this . . . how on Saturdays, and often Sundays, they’d put a little bit of time in at the office, then come back to his place to continue at a more relaxed pace, enjoying each other’s company, debating ideas, and dreaming big dreams. This is when she felt like she was contributing. This is when she felt like she might be changing the world.

. . . .

“DONE!” He announced two hours later, standing up and raising his hands in victory. “I’m getting another beer.”

As he headed into the kitchen, she closed the document she’d been working on and clicked on the browser. Sure enough, “lemonlyman.com” was still saved in the favorites. CJ would have a fit. But Donna was in a good mood and she hadn’t finished harassing Josh over this yet. She scrolled through the “fantasy date” section looking to see if there was something new to tease him about when she noticed another tab.

“Fanfic? What’s this?” Clicking the link she discovered a list of titles and summaries of stories. Each noted the characters. Her eyes widened as she saw her own name linked with Josh’s over and over.

She’d just clicked on one and started to read when suddenly he was right behind her. “Whatcha doin?”

“Ack!” She jumped, slamming the computer shut. That got his attention real quick.

“Are you looking at PORN?” He chortled, “On my work computer? Donna, I gotta tell you . . “

“No, you idiot.” She laughed, lightly smacking his arm. But she was blushing. Clearly he’d caught her doing something and his curiosity was aroused.

“Well what was it? I haven’t seen you jump like that in a long time.”

She studied him for a moment, wondering whether this was a good idea, but when he looked at her like he was right now, all in good humor, eyes sparking and dimples on full display, it was hard for her to deny him anything.

“Lemonlyman.” She shrugged. “There’s a fanfiction section!”

“What the hell is fanfiction?”

“It’s sort of like the fantasy date thing. People have written all kinds of stories about you.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “Like what?”

“Well there’s a whole bunch where you are the President or Chief of Staff. Then there’s some where you are a pirate. And then . . .”

“A pirate? Lemmesee.” He plops down right next to her, offering her the beer as he reaches for the computer. But to his surprise, she holds on, not wanting to let it go, and she’s turning even redder.

“Donna?!?” He exclaims, his senses kicking in, telling him there is something here she doesn’t want him to see.

As he pulls a little harder she lets go and the laptop slides over into his lap. He starts to read:

_ I’ve got the kids ready to go in their shoes and coats when Donna comes flying into the room, bags in hand. As she takes Noah’s hand, mine finds the small of her back and I shepard my little family out towards the car. It’s not a sports car like I’d imagined in my youth, or even a fancy coupe, but it is the safest sedan on the market. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. _

  
  


“Oh!” He exclaims softly, smiling to himself, realizing that the story is written from his perspective about having a family with Donna. When he’s done he glances over at her. She’s watching him. Her face is unreadable. “This is sweet.” He says softly, then clears his throat. “Where’s the pirate stuff?”

“It doesn’t bother you?” She asks a little bewildered.

“No. I’d like to have a family someday. It’s nice to think that someone out there thinks I could be competent at it.

“I think you’d be great.” She responds quietly, and a moment passes between them where they silently observe each other, each both too nervous to say more.

Then Josh clicks on another story. He slides a bit closer and moves the laptop between them. 

They read at about the same speed, and both burst into laughter when the fictional Donna sends the fictional Josh out for condoms and an eye patch to fulfill her pirate fantasy. It’s just too silly for either of them to take seriously. 

“My turn to pick!” she announces when they’re done, passing the empty beer bottle back over to him. As she’s scrolling, he stands up. “Arrrgh!” He jokes, “I’ll get us another beer.” 

He makes a detour to the bathroom, and when he comes back from the kitchen with the beer, big giant tears are rolling down her cheeks and she’s struggling not to sob.

“Oh my God Donna. What are you reading?”

“You died.” She hiccups. “You got killed by a drunk driver, and this is CJ’s journal about how I reacted. I never loved anyone ever again.”

He stands there frozen, not sure what to say. Moved at how deeply this story is affecting her. Hurt, not at the thought that he could die, but at the thought that she could waste her life mourning for him.

She takes a couple deep, gulping breaths and tries to get ahold of herself. He sits down and puts his arm around her and she leans in. “I didn’t die.” He finally states the obvious.

She laughs a little and he gives her a squeeze. “My turn.” He announces.

“But . . .” She starts to protest that the last one didn’t count, but he just raises an eyebrow at her and she concedes. “Okay. You pick.”

“Here’s one.” He clicks on something with an unsuspecting name and they both begin to read. It’s fairly benign, and they both begin to relax a bit. 

Suddenly, Donna freezes, her eyes bugging out a bit as she reads about Josh picking her up and tossing her onto his bed. Only a second later Josh chokes on the beer he’s drinking, leaning in a little closer to squint at the page when he recovers. 

She wonders if he’s reading the part about her stroking his massive length. A part of her thinks she should stop reading, but if she stops she’ll have to face him and she’s pretty sure she’d rather die.

“Does that say that you...“

“Yeah.” She answers him abruptly, her eyes still awkwardly looking at the screen instead of Josh, that’s when she reads about him putting his mouth to more creative uses. 

“And then I…”

“Yeah.”

“Donna!” He practically screeches. “What the hell is that?!”

“Well, Josh,” she begins in a condescending tone, though they both know she’s only kidding. “Sometimes when a man and a woman…”

“Give me that!” He pulls the laptop from her and hits the back button to the main page, looking a little flustered, which amuses her greatly. 

They’re quiet for a moment, but a peculiar look remains on his face. 

“Still thinking about it a little bit?” She prods. 

“I had stamina.” He puffs his chest.

“It’s called fiction for a reason, Mr. hasn’t been jogging in 15 months,” she bats back. 

“Can’t be sure though, can you?” He wiggles his eyebrows at her. 

“You’re a pig.” She states evenly. 

“Oh like you’ve never thought about it either,” he tries to be playful. 

“Either? So you’re saying you have?” She asks curiously. 

Josh’s eyebrows raise to his hairline and he goes a little pale, realizing for the first time that he’s said that out loud. 

“Anyway,” he clears his throat, clicking another link. “Here’s one with a lot of good reviews.”

Donna’s relieved as she sees the box with a green “G” in it and figures out the rating system.

“Oh. It’s a first date fic. That’s cute.” Donna sighs when they get to the end of the first chapter. She’s a bit surprised, but fairly happy when he clicks the “next” button. Josh has a slight smirk as he reads about himself wooing her with a trip to the National Observatory, but when the date ends without going any further than a brief kiss, he looks disgruntled.

“That’s not right.”

“It’s not?” She asks, it seemed pretty romantic to her. It would definitely work. Not that she needs to be wooed at this point.

“No.” He insists, moving the laptop to the table. “If I ever get the chance to kiss you, I’m not going to stop at a little peck on the lips. I’d make you see stars.” He moves closer, eyes smouldering, and she realizes that all these stories have definitely had an effect on him. He puts his hand through her hair and cups the back of her head. “Wanna see?”

He pauses for a beat to wait for some indication of consent, but at her slight, wide-eyed nod, he molds his lips to hers.

And he’s right. But it’s fireworks.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Works mentioned:  
> (S5 E15 Eppur Si Mouve by JDPostEpisodeChallenge, kcat1971 https://archiveofourown.org/works/20027044/chapters/47422063)  
> (Shelter from the Storm by Marguerite, Jo March https://archiveofourown.org/works/15102617)  
> (The Journal by Jennifer Wilson https://archiveofourown.org/works/15093656)


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